Brightly colored tracers become dulled by the flame, smoke, and/or soot from a shotgun barrel and/or ignited gunpowder during discharge of a shotgun shell tracer. The dulling of the color of the tracer degrades an individual's ability to detect the tracer in flight, particularly against certain backgrounds.
In the past manufacturing efficiencies in the formation of shotgun shell tracers has been difficult to obtain. The number of manufacturing challenges increase as different materials are used to form a shotgun shell tracer body. The number of manufacturing challenges also increases as different sizes and types of shot are incorporated into a shotgun shell tracer. Some manufacturing considerations include, but are not necessarily limited to, a one piece or two piece design, the materials used for the tracer insert, the dimensions and configurations for the components of the tracer insert, as well as the performance of the tracer following setback or discharge to provide a desired level of visibility as well as accurate and consistent flight trajectory performance. Some types of shot perform better within a shotgun shell tracer as compared to other types of shot. Some types of shot also provide an acceptable level of performance as ballast for a shotgun shell tracer, while other types of shot underperform relative to expectations for ballast for a shotgun shell tracer.